Epson Stylus Pro 9880 User Manual

131
131
The Epson Stylus Pro 7880 and Pro 9880 require little maintenance to keep 
working at their best. This chapter describes the following routine 
procedures:
Checking printer status and part life
Checking and cleaning the print head
Aligning the print head
Replacing ink cartridges
Switching the black ink cartridge
Changing the date and time
Performing additional maintenance tasks
Replacing the paper cutter blade
Replacing the maintenance tank
Cleaning the printer
Transporting or storing the...

132
132|Maintaining and Transporting the Printer
Printing Status Information
The status check sheet shows some of the current default settings, the 
amount of ink remaining in each cartridge, the page count, and the status of 
various printer parts. 
1. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer.
2. Press the 
Menu button. 
3. Press the d button to highlight 
TEST PRINT, then press Menu. 
4. Press d to highlight 
STATUS SHEET, then press Menu. You see 
PRINT. 
5. Press   to start printing. 
The amount of...

133
Maintaining and Transporting the Printer|133
(This option must be enabled using maintenance mode on the 
printer’s control panel to display information. See page 149 for 
instructions.)
To check the amount of ink left, press d to highlight INK LEVEL, 
then press 
Menu. The status of the first cartridge is displayed, using 
the symbols described on page 134. Continue pressing d to see the 
status of the remaining cartridges. When done, press l.
To check how much of the maintenance tank has been used,...

134
134|Maintaining and Transporting the Printer
The status of the printer parts is indicated with these symbols:
E*****F = 100–81% of service life remaining
E**** F = 80–61% 
E*** F = 60–41% 
E** F = 40–21% 
E* F = 20–11% 
% = less than 10% of service life remaining
4. Press the  Pause button to exit the menu.
For more information about the Printer Status menu, see page 206.
Checking Printer Status From the Printer Driver
The Epson Status Monitor utility installed with your printer driver lets you...

135
Maintaining and Transporting the Printer|135
The software check the amount of ink in the printer and maintenance 
tank(s) and displays one of these windows:
Checking and Cleaning the Print Head
If your printed image shows a color shift or horizontal lines, you should 
check the print head to see if any nozzles are clogged or deflected. If 
necessary, the printer will automatically run a cleaning cycle to clear the 
nozzles.
You can also turn on Auto Nozzle Check from the printer’s control panel. 
The...

136
136|Maintaining and Transporting the Printer

Windows XP: Click Start and select Control Panel. Double-click 
Printers and Faxes. Right-click your printer icon and select 
Printing Preferences. Click the Utility tab.
You see a menu like the following:
3. Select the 
Nozzle Check icon.
4. Click 
Auto and follow the instructions on the screen.
The nozzle check pattern is printed and automatically read. If the printer 
finds clogged nozzles, it runs a cleaning cycle.
If the nozzles do not clear after a...

137
Maintaining and Transporting the Printer|137
3. Press Menu, then press   to start printing the nozzle check pattern.
The nozzle check pattern is printed and automatically read. If the printer 
finds clogged nozzles, it runs a cleaning cycle.
Manually Checking and Cleaning the Print Head
If you turn off Auto Cleaning, you can print a nozzle check and manually 
examine it to determine whether any nozzles are clogged or deflected. Then 
you can run a cleaning cycle by pressing and holding the 
Menu...

138
138|Maintaining and Transporting the Printer
Running a Power Cleaning Cycle
You can run a power cleaning cycle from the control panel if the normal 
cleaning process is not sufficient to clear the nozzles. However, the power 
cycle uses a large quantity of ink, so it is recommended only as a last resort. 
The cartridges need to be at least 50% full to use power cleaning. You may 
need to replace a low cartridge to run the cleaning cycle. After cleaning, you 
can reinsert the old cartridge.
1. Print a...

139
Maintaining and Transporting the Printer|139
Aligning the Print Head
Aligning the print head is the most important thing you can do to ensure the 
best print quality. If banding appears on your prints, if they look grainy or 
blurry, or if you see misregistration or “ghosting,” you need to align the print 
head. 
Although you can align the print head using the printer utility software, it’s 
also easy to align from the printer’s control panel. This will do the most 
thorough job in the shortest time,...

140
140|Maintaining and Transporting the Printer
9. When the uni-directional alignment is finished, press d until BI-D 
2-COLOR 
is highlighted. Then press   to start the bi-directional black 
alignment process.
10. When the bi-directional black alignment is finished, press d until 
BI-D 
ALL 
is highlighted. Then press   to start the alignment process.
11. When done, press the  Pause button to exit head alignment mode.
If you want to fine-tune the automatic alignment process, you can perform a 
manual...